Welcome to another newsletter from A Way with Words! This newsletter was originally supposed to go out on Monday, May 12th, but our service provider had a snafu and the messages disappeared into the ether. There are a lot of creatures on planets...
A Pennsylvania minister is curious about a phrase her family uses: “by way of Robin Hood’s barn” or “around Robin Hood’s barn,” meaning a long, circuitous route. This is part of a complete episode.
This week’s Slang This! contestant is not just any word nerd. She’s Dorothea Gillim, creator of the animated PBS series WordGirl. Dorothea tries to guess the meaning of the odd terms pelican crossing and zanjero. The new season of...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski tries to stump the hosts with a puzzle called Cryptic Crosswords. How about this one: “Do-re-mi-fa follower + sneaker feature = comfort.” This is part of a complete episode.
Death of the Typewriter Ding! In this week’s episode, Mark Twain would be pleased. Reports that it’s the end of the line for the typewriter have been greatly exaggerated. Well, slightly anyway: it’s not the horseless carriage...
A California caller is puzzling over the expression “have your cake and eat it, too.” Shouldn’t it be “eat your cake and have it, too”? This is part of a complete episode.